Kishore BiyaniBrick-and-mortar retail baron Kishore Biyani has welcomed the new policy guidelines and clarifications issued by the government while allowing 100% FDI in ecommerce marketplace, saying the new policy will prevent ecommerce companies from controlling prices and selling below cost price.

In an interview with Sagar Malviya, the CEO of top retailer said that if the conditions issued by the Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion (DIPP) are followed in letter and in spirit, then it's a huge step towards level playing field that offline retailers have been fighting for. Edited Excerpts:

What will change for retail sector?

t's a huge step in bringing parity for retailers in the country. It changes everything. They (ecommerce marketplaces such as Flipkart and Amazon) can't operate as a retailer and will just be technology providers. That's how they should have been in the first place.

So, no more price wars?

They can't influence prices, which is very important to bring a level-playing field. Till now, they behaved like retailers and not like marketplace. That will change.

Is it favouring brick-and-mortar retailers then?

Not really. We just wanted them to not to sell below cost price. That has been taken care of. It could be even a blessing in disguise for online companies as they no longer will have to burn cash to acquire customers. There is now a possibility that their sales drop but losses reduce too.

But these conditions can still be technically tweaked?

How much can it change? Technically, ecommerce companies should not even advertise, at least not about offers or pricing. It will bring some sanity to the market for sure.

Why was there a need to define marketplace?

By defining marketplace, it has cleared confusion or issue arising out of the term. No one can dispute the definition of marketplace now though the sourcing norm or single vendor dependency will not change the way existing marketplaces operate.

The biggest news for retailers or brands is that marketplace cannot control pricing.